Blast From the Past
by everfoxxy
Summary: An old friend of Mary's comes to town. Chapter 9 is up! Complete.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer; I do not own Las Vegas the Series or any of its characters.

Spoilers; None really. Set during season two but is a bit AU.

Notes; I'm still working on Untitled but wanted to give this a try first. This part may be a little boring, but it's mostly exposition.

Content; Danny/Mary (eventually), Mary/Original Character

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Mary Connell sat at a table in Cuppa Joe's eating her lunch. Alone.

Danny was supposed to meet her there but he was running very late.

"Something must've come up", she mumbled to herself. Sighing, she continued to eat. She had become increasingly frustrated with her best friend, Danny McCoy.

She had been in love with him forever and he was finally starting to return her feelings. Ever since he got back from the war, they had been closer than ever. Yet whenever they made plans to spend some time together, Danny would always cancel for some reason. Whether it was work or Ed, it seemed like the forces were against them getting together.

"Excuse me?"

She turned her head at the masculine voice coming from behind her. "Yes?"

"Are you Mary Connell?"

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and tucked a lock of her reddish hair behind her ear. "Yes."

The man gave her a big gorgeous smile. "Well I'll be. I thought that was you."

Mary froze and gulped. She recognized that smile. "Oh my God", she whispered. "Jeff? Jeff Cooper?"

He nodded. "You remembered my name."

Mary stuttered. "S-sure. How could I forget?"

Jeff stood up from his table and sat down at hers. "Do you mind?" She shook her head. He gave her an appreciative once over. "Wow. Mary, you look fantastic."

She blushed and laughed nervously. "Thanks. So do you." 'Really fantastic', she thought to herself. 'Am I drooling?', she unconsciously wiped at her mouth again.

He winked. "I try. So how have you been?"

"Great! I work here at the Montecito, I'm a Special Events Coordinator."

"Nice", he replied in an impressed tone.

"What about you?"

"I'm a musician. I'm actually gonna perform here and wanted to check the place out."

Mary raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. I met a Delinda Deline at one of my shows last week and she invited me here to play at the Mystique."

"I know Delinda." 'So he's the musician she was going ga-ga over, huh?', her jealous mind raged. "Uh, is it just you or are you in a band?"

"It's just me, although I do have a backup band. I play guitar and sing. I mostly play small gigs as I don't have a record deal yet. This will actually be my biggest gig yet. I've never played in a resort before. I'm kind of nervous", he chuckled.

She smiled. "Well if Delinda likes you enough to invite you here, I'm sure you're great."

"You're gonna come to the show, right? It's this Friday night."

"I'd love to."

"Cool. Listen to me going on and on about myself. I must be boring you."

"No. No you're not boring me at all. I'm enjoying the company", she said honestly.

Jeff smiled. "So are you married? Any kids?"

Mary shook her head in the negative. "No to both. You?"

"Same. But hey, we're still young. There's no rush, right?"

Silence decended on them for a brief moment. "I can't believe you remembered my name, it's not like I was around for very long", Jeff said in disbelief.

Mary giggled. "I can't believe you remembered mine."

"There's no way I can ever forget my first."

"And there's no way I can ever forget mine."

They stared into each other's eyes with matching smiles on their faces. Then Jeff cleared his throat. "Who would've thought? Of all the people to run into..."

"I know", Mary slightly ducked her head down in embarrassment.

"It's almost like this was... fate."

Mary raised her head and gave him a small smile.

Jeff continued, "So do you keep in touch with anyone else from high school?"

Mary's eyes widened for a bit. "Uh yeah. Do you remember Luis Perez?"

"Yeah."

"Well he's a detective now for the Las Vegas PD."

"Cool. I remember how much he was into being the hall monitor."

She laughed. "Yeah, and there's Danny McCoy", she rushed out.

Jeff furrowed his brow. "McCoy? Oh right! Weren't you like best friends with him?"

"Yeah. I still am", she licked her suddenly dry lips. For some reason it made her uncomfortable to talk to Jeff about Danny. She reached for her water and took a sip. "He works here too. He's in charge of Security."

"Wow. It sounds like everyone's doing well for themselves. Didn't McCoy hate me?"

She scrunched her face up in confusion. "Uh, no. I don't think so. Why would he hate you, he barely knew you."

Jeff shrugged. "Maybe I'm mistaken. But I always got a vibe from him. Anyway, I should get going."

They both stood up from the table. "It was really great seeing you, Mary"

"You too." They gave each other an awkward hug, which Mary relished. 'He smells so good', she thought and closed her eyes in satisfaction for a brief moment.

The embrace ended and Jeff pulled back. "Um, listen. Do you maybe want to go out for dinner later?"

Mary hesitated before answering, but agreed. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Great. I'll pick you up at 7?"

"Yeah." She scribbled down her number and address on one of her clean napkins and gave it to him. "Here."

"Excellent." He flashed her that Jeff Cooper smile that she had always loved so much. "See you then."

"Bye." She watched him walk away with a goofy grin on her face and sunk back down into her chair.

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Danny watched Mary's lunch with the mysterious man on the screens in the surveilance room.

With narrowed eyes, he asked himself in an angry tone, "who the hell is that guy?"


	2. Interrogation Time

Disclaimer; I don't own Las Vegas the Series or any of its characters.

AN; This story is set during season 2 but is a bit AU, meaning that Danny/Mary aren't engaged here. Thanks for all the feedback! I wasn't expecting so much for just the first chapter.

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Danny ran out of the surveillance room to meet Mary. He had to find her. Talk to her. Find out who that guy she was talking to... and hugging, was. But when he got to Cuppa Joe's, she was gone.

Cursing under his breath, he spotted his friend and co-worker, Mike Cannon, nearby. "Hey, man".

"What's up?", the bald man asked a bit concerned. He could tell Danny was frazzled.

"Have you seen Mary?", he asked, slightly breathless.

"Uh, yeah. Just now. She went into the casino."

"Thanks". Danny took off again now running through the casino. He then ran into another co-worker in his haste to get to Mary, Sam Marquez, literally plowing into her.

"Woah! Watch where you're going, Spazz", she chucked him in the back of his head.

"Sorry. And ow", he winced as he rubbed the injury she gave him.

"Suck it up, you big baby", Danny's rival replied. "What's going on?"

"I'm looking for Mary. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah. She said she was going to her office."

Without another word, he was off. Gamblers in the casino turned their heads to watch the desperate man he had become, race through the crowd. He finally reached her office door, out of breath, and knocked.

"Come in".

At the soft reply, he entered. "Hey", he plastered a smile on his face, trying to appear cool like he hadn't just run through the casino like a maniac knocking people over in the process just to find her. Nope. He was cool as a cucumber.

Mary raised an eyebrow at him. "You're late. I already had my lunch."

He frowned. "I'm sorry about that. Something came-"

"Up." She finished for him and nodded. "I know".

"I'll make it up to you", he appeased.

"There's no need", she replied as she continued to organize her files at her desk.

"No, I want to. How about dinner? Tonight? I'm working late, but I can sneak away for a little while. Mike will cover for me."

She froze and Danny dipped his head trying to look into her eyes. He was searching for something. What, he wasn't sure of yet.

"Uh...", she scrambled to her filing cabinets. "I can't make it tonight, sorry. I already have plans."

He blinked. "Really? With who? The girls?"

"No. You won't believe who I ran into at lunch."

Danny would believe it, but he didn't want her to know that when she wasn't with him he liked to watch her on the surveillance cameras, so he chose to keep his mouth shut about Mary's mysterious lunch pal until she told him about it.

"Do you remember Jeff Cooper from high school?"

It was like thunder and lightning struck at once outside for Danny. He did remember Jeff Cooper. Mary had a huge crush on him in school. And she also lost her virginity to him. He always hated that guy. "Vaguely", he answered in a fake uninterested tone.

"Well it was freshmen year. He only went to our school for a few months and then his family moved", she explained. "I went out with him a few times, remember?"

A pensive look crossed Danny's face, pretending as if he were trying to remember this guy. "I think so. He was tall, kinda geeky."

Mary sighed happily. "Yeah."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "So, what are your plans for tonight with this... Jeff?", he bit out.

She furrowed her brow at him. "Dinner. Nothing big."

"Oh", he squeaked out. "So it's not like... a date or anything, right?", he hopefully, but cautiously, asked.

She hesitantly shook her head. "No, it's just two old high school friends, getting together and catching up." She didn't really know why, but she felt like she was lying to Danny. And that also made her feel guilty.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I guess that's okay then", he muttered.

"What do you mean by that?", she asked as a look of suspicion crossed her pretty features.

His eyes widened in surprise of being heard and he stuttered, "j-just that... it sounds like fun", he amended.

She nodded and walked back to her desk to sit down. "I guess I'll have to take a rain check on that dinner you owe me."

"Yeah. So how is it that you just so happened to run into this guy after all these years?" That was still plaguing him.

"Oh! He's a musician and he'll be playing at Mystique this Friday. Delinda discovered him", she replied sarcastically.

Danny looked at Mary with slight confusion on his face. She sounded almost... jealous. He cleared his throat. "What time are you going out?"

"Seven. He's picking me up at my place."

"Your place?" He didn't like the sound of that.

"Well he can't pick me up from here. I would like to change first."

"Sure you would", he briefly smiled. "Listen, before you go out with him", he crossed his arms over his chest sternly, "I want to see this guy."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Danny", she whined. He always did this to her, ever since they were kids. She knew he was protective of her and it was very sweet, but also annoying at times. "I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself."

"Just humor me, okay?"

He had that determined look on his face, so she knew he wasn't backing down. "Fine", she reluctantly relented. "Since you're working late, we'll stop by here after he picks me up."

He gave her a big satisfied smile. "Good. I'll see you later." She waved at him as left her office.

Standing just outside her door, he was already planning on how he was going to prevent Mary from going out with Jeff Cooper tonight.


	3. Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner

Disclaimer; I do not own "Las Vegas" the series or any of its characters.

AN: Thanks again for the feedback! Sorry if this took too long. I've been trying to post this for the last few days, but the site wouldn't let me.

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"Why am I so nervous?", Mary asked herself. She stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, looking at her reflection. Trying to decide what to wear, she had on her third outfit of the night. "I look like a nun", she complained. As she attempted to take the outfit off, there was a knock at her door.

When she opened it, her friend Delinda Deline, made her way through the door with bags in her hands. "Have no fear, Delinda's here." Getting a good look at Mary, she commented, "you look like a nun."

"I know", she frowned. "I have nothing to wear."

"I've got you covered", she said, holding up the bags of clothes.

Mary smiled gratefully. "Thanks for coming over."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Even though you are going out with my man", she joked.

The redhead smirked. "He's not your man."

"He would've been", she pointed out. "I can't believe you're going out on a date with him."

"It's not a date", she denied unconvincingly.

Delinda snickered. "Yeah, right." Mary just rolled her eyes at her as she rifled through her bags. Pulling out a dress, Delinda held it up to Mary. "This would look so good on you. It goes with your hair color."

Shrugging, Mary grabbed it and walked into the bathroom nearby to try it on.

"So what did Danny have to say?", the blonde called out as she made herself comfortable on Mary's bed.

"Oh... not much. He doesn't even remember Jeff."

"What's the story with you two anyway?"

Sighing in frustration, Mary replied, "I don't know. We keep making plans, and then he cancels on me. I'm beginning to think Danny doesn't really want to be with me."

Delinda raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I meant, you and Jeff."

Mary walked back into the bedroom, fully dressed in the new outfit. "Oh. So what do you think?"

Scrunching her forehead in confusion, the blonde asked, "about you and Jeff or you and Danny?"

"About the dress", Mary spun around, showing it off.

"Oh", she chuckled. "Hmm", she inspected her. "I think it makes your butt look big."

Mary looked at her friend in shock. Even though Delinda had always been blunt with her, it still managed to render her speechless at times.

"What?", the blonde asked defensively. "It does."

Shaking her head, Mary muttered, "you're unbelievable".

Going through the bags once again, Delinda pulled out a skirt set. "Ooh, this is real pretty. Try this on." Mary went back into the bathroom.

"So about you and Jeff..."

"Oh right. Well, we went to high school together for awhile. He was so sweet and cute and smart. We were paired as lab partners once in science class, and that's when he asked me out. He was kind of like my first boyfriend, even though we only went out a few times. But I was totally in love with him."

"Really? I never thought you loved anyone but Danny."

Mary returned in the skirt set. "Let me tell you, I love Danny. But if there was any other guy that I could have seen myself with, it was Jeff", she confessed with a bright smile. "He was also my first. When he told me his family was moving, I was so crushed. We went out his last night here, and we... you know. It was so beautiful. On a blanket, under the stars. It just felt so... right. It was his first time too and we were both so nervous and it was so awkward, but it was... everything a first time should be", Mary finished with a meloncholy smile.

"Aww. Sounds a lot better than my first time", Delinda interrupted.

"And the next day, he was gone. And I never saw him again. We wrote to each other for awhile, and I even saved a couple of his letters, but then that stopped. You know how it is, you lose touch with people", she shrugged.

"Yeah".

Blinking back a few tears, an emotional Mary admitted, "I always considered Jeff to be the one that got away." Lost in her own thoughts for a moment, Mary came back to herself and asked, "so how about this outfit?"

Delinda nodded. "You look gorgeous."

She smiled. "Thanks, I like it too. I think this is the one." She then sat at her make-up table. "How should I do my hair, up or down?"

"Hmm." Delinda came up behind her and played with her hair. "I say up. It shows off your neck and guys love that."

"Danny always loved my hair down."

"Is that why you usually wear it like that?"

Mary didn't answer. She simply smiled, then grabbed some hair clips to put her hair up.

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After seven that evening, Mary and her date were driving back to the Montecito. "I'm really sorry about this, Jeff", she apologized for the second time since he picked her up at her house.

He smiled. "Don't be. I understand. McCoy's just looking out for you."

She rolled her eyes. "No, he's just being an overprotective jerk."

"I think it's sweet."

"You do?", she looked at him with surprise.

"Yeah. It's kind of what brothers do. I used to do it to my little sister all the time."

Mary scoffed. "Danny is not my brother."

She said it so vehemently, Jeff had to take his eyes off the road for a second to glance at her. He shrugged. "At any rate, I don't mind."

Mary smiled thankfully. "You're wonderful."

"I don't know about that. I'm only going to put up with his interrogation for five minutes. Ten minutes, tops. Then I'm dragging you out of there, whether he likes me or not." They chuckled as they neared the resort.

"Here we go", the redhead mumbled under her breath, and stepped out of the car when her date opened the door for her. As soon as they entered the building, Mike came running up to them. "Mary."

"Hi, Mike. I'd like for you to meet Jeff Cooper. Jeff, this is Mike Cannon." The two men greeted each other and shook hands. "Where's Danny? I want to get this over with. We have reservations for eight o'clock", Mary said, as she checked her watch for the time.

"Yeah, about that... Danny's sick."

A look of immediate concern crossed Mary's features. "What's wrong?"

"Umm, I think he ate something that didn't agree with him. He's been vomiting for the last hour."

"Where is he?"

"I got him lying down in the Staff Room." The three of them took off together.

"Maybe I should go in alone?", she suggested as they got to the door. Mike and Jeff simply nodded as she entered the room. Upon first walking in, she spotted Danny on the leather couch with his eyes closed, wrapped in a blanket. He was also slightly moaning. "Danny", she called softly as she sat down by him, caressing his face.

He opened his eyes. "Mary", he croaked out.

"Hey" she smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I think I may have come down with a bug."

"Mike says you ate something that didn't agree with you."

Danny's eyes widened for a bit. 'Damn Mike. We went over this', he thought to himself. He hoped he hadn't just been caught. "Uh, well I got sick after dinner. So we thought that was it at first."

"Mmm." She felt his forehead. "You don't feel warm."

'Double damn'. "Um, I feel cold actually."

"Like chills?"

"Yeah", he nodded. 'This isn't going too well. She isn't buying it', he paniced.

"I've got Jeff outside."

"Oh right. I'm sorry about this, Mary", he falsely apologized. "As you can see, I'm in no condition to meet him."

"No, you're not. And I can't just leave you like this."

He knew she'd say that. "Mary, I'll be fine. I don't want you to break your date because of me", he said it with a puppy dog look on his face, but his mind chanted, 'break it, Mary. Break it.'

Mary contemplated that for a moment, then came to a decision. "If I don't, I'll just spend the whole night worrying about you anyway." She kissed his forehead and got up. "I'll be right back."

Once she left the room, a big chesire grin crossed Danny McCoy's handsome face. "Nice try, Jeff Cooper."


	4. Dirty Dishes

Disclaimer; I do not own "Las Vegas". I wish I did.

Notes; Sorry for the wait. This part may be a little sad. I hope you like anyway. And thanks for the feedback!

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Mary tucked Danny into his bed after driving him home. "I'm gonna make you some soup, okay?"

"Mary, you don't have to do this. I'm fine, really", he ended with a fake cough.

"I'll be the judge of that", she then walked into his kitchen. Danny took the moment alone to revel in having Mary take care of him. He stretched happily in his big soft bed like a cat. "This is so easy", he remarked to himself.

"What was that?" Mary surprised him by suddenly coming back into the room.

"Uh, I'm a little queasy. Is all", he covered.

"Poor baby." She began to rifle through his closet and Danny sat up in confusion. "What are you looking for?"

"Your blankie that you always use when you're sick", she stated.

Danny scoffed. "I do not have a blankie." The redhead then retrieved the object in question and turned to him with a knowing smile. "It's not a blankie", he denied, then corrected, "it's a quilt."

"Mmmhmm", she simply raised an eyebrow at him and spread the blanket out over his body. "I'll be back with your soup."

"Mary, wait." She turned back towards him and waited in the doorway. "I'm sorry for... you know, ruining your night."

She waved off his apology. "It's ok. It's not like you planned on getting sick." She smiled warmly at him and walked out.

A wave of guilt passed through him, but only for a second as he thought of Mary making him soup, watching TV with him and just generally hanging out together for the night. He then smiled contently.

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Mary was cuddled next to Danny on his bed. She yawned as the movie they were watching ended. "That was good."

"Can't go wrong with a Johnny Depp film."

She giggled. "I wonder if you're like the only straight guy in the world with a crush on Johnny Depp."

"Hey! I do not have a crush. I just think he's... cool."

"You're so cute", she shook her head at him in amusement. "How are you feeling?"

Danny started at the question, as he had forgotten all about his imaginary ailments. "Oh! Um, better."

She nodded, "good", then got up to collect the dirty dishes scattered on the nightstands. Danny got up to follow her into the kitchen. "Let me help you with that."

"Oh no you don't, buster. You're sick. You need your rest", she reprimanded him.

"I'm fine. You wash, I'll dry?", he compromised with a sly grin.

She could never say no to that smile. "Deal." They made their way to the sink and began their routine in silence.

"So... tonight was fun, wasn't it?"

Mary nodded. "It's been awhile since we've hung out together like this."

"Yeah", Danny sighed. "And I know that's my fault. I keep screwing up."

She wanted to agree with him but didn't and just handed him a clean wet dish. "I understand. You're busy."

Danny paused while drying and looked into her eyes, seriously. "Never too busy for you, Mary. Don't ever think that I am."

She gave him an embarrassed smile and continued washing.

"I'm glad you're not disappointed about not going out with Jeff tonight."

"I didn't say that."

He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "So... you are disappointed?"

She sighed. "A little. I mean, it's been a long time since I've seen him. But it's cool. We're going out tomorrow tonight."

Danny frowned. "I never saw what was so great about Jeff Cooper anyway. I mean... just because you slept with him...", he trailed off as he realized he spoke those words out loud.

Mary simply stared at him. "I thought you said you didn't remember him?"

Danny briefly closed his eyes, silently cursing his stupidity and jealousy for what he was about to do. He snapped. "Ok. So I do remember him. How could I not? All you ever did was talk about Jeff Cooper. How great he is, how sweet he is, how smart he is, how cute he is!" His tone began to rise in anger. "And when he left, you were heartbroken, Mare. I hated seeing you like that and I never want Jeff Cooper to do that to you again!"

She looked at him in shock. "You were faking being sick, weren't you? I suspected, I mean... we lived together. I knew when you were faking sick to stay home from school. Why did you do that? And don't give me that crap about not wanting to see me get hurt! You just don't want to see me with another guy. Like always. You never want me until someone else does!", she was slightly breathless from her rant.

"That's not true", he answered quietly. "I always want you."

She licked her lips. "Danny..."

He ran his hand through his short hair in frustration. "Ok! I faked being sick. I didn't want you going out with him because... I was jealous", he admitted. "I don't like it, Mary. It scares me to see you with another man because, I'm afraid he'll replace me. And I know that sounds stupid and selfish, but I can't help it. I don't wanna lose you. Not to Jeff Cooper, not to anyone."

She tucked her reddish hair behind her ear and shook her head sympathetically. "It doesn't sound stupid or selfish. Well, maybe a little selfish. But I know how that feels. I feel the same way whenever you so much as look at another girl. But... if you're not ready to commit...", she trailed off as she was becoming emotional. "You can't keep faking sick to prevent me from going out with other guys."

Danny opened his mouth to respond but found he couldn't. She gave him a sad smile. "I like Jeff, and I'm going out with him tomorrow. I'm not saying I'm gonna marry the guy", she lightly chuckled, "but I have some unresolved feelings for him and I think I owe it to myself to see, you know?"

Danny clenched his jaw. He knew she was right, but it would kill him to admit that out loud. "You do what you have to do."

She slowly walked up to him, ran a hand down his cheek and smiled. "No matter what happens... no one will ever replace you."

He grabbed her hand, preventing her from moving away from him. Instead of telling her he loved her like he wanted to, he merely placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Looking down at Mary sternly, he reminded her with a smirk, "I still want to see this guy before you go out with him."


	5. A Kick in the Pants

Disclaimer; I do not own "Las Vegas: the series" or any of its characters.

Notes;I feel thisstory winding down. Thanks again for the feedback, I hope everyone is still enjoying it.

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"So, she didn't buy it?", Mike chuckled.

Danny glared at him. "No, and it's not funny. She's going out with him tonight."

"What's the big deal, man? Let her go out and have some fun. It's only dinner", the bald man reasoned.

"It's not only dinner." Danny stood up from his chair in the control room in anger. "It's dinner with Jeff Cooper. The only other guy besides me she's ever loved."

Mike shook his head in amusement and slight aggravation. "Ok, so she has real feelings for him. So what? You have an advantage on him, man. You're her best friend. No matter how much she may love this guy, there's no way she loves him as much as she does you. That's obvious to anyone, except you apparently."

Danny sighed and stared at the bank of monitors in front of him. "I really hate this."

"And why is that? Because you love her or because you just don't want to share her with anyone?"

He turned to look at his friend with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Look, man", Mike placated, "I'm not saying that you don't have feelings for Mary. But exactly what kinds of feelings are these? Are they feelings for someone you want more than anything else? Or are they feelings you have for a favorite toy you don't play with anymore but don't want to give away?"

Danny looked horrified. "Mary is not a toy. I would never even think of her as one let alone treat her like one."

Mike grimaced. "Ok, so maybe that was a bad analogy."

"Maybe, Mikey?"

"I just meant, how do you really feel about her?"

Danny walked back over to his desk and picked up the frame that sat on it. It held an image of him and Mary at his birthday party last year. She had thrown it for him, it was a surprise. It was his favorite picture. He gently ran his finger down the side of her face. "All I ever did when I was over there fighting was think about her. I kept saying to myself, I gotta make it back home... back home to Mary. She's waiting for me. I swore to myself then that if I made it back in one piece, I wasn't gonna blow it this time. I wasn't gonna run away... I wasn't gonna lose her. I need her, Mikey. I love her. I've never loved anyone but her." The weight of Danny's confession seemed to fall heavy on him as he leaned back in his chair for support.

"Woah. That's deep, man. I didn't think you had it in you", Mike admitted. "So you know how you feel about her. Great. Does Mary know?"

Danny paused before answering. "Yeah. I think. I'm pretty sure. How could she not know?"

"That's what I thought", Mike mumbled more to himself but made sure Danny heard it. "If you've never even told her how you feel, then you don't have the right to be upset about her and Jeff." He held his hands up as if washing them of the whole thing.

"But-", Danny protested.

"No! I don't wanna hear it. You need to stop acting like a child and tell Mary the truth. You're making me sick."

Danny frowned, insulted, then his cell phone rang. "McCoy", he answered. "Oh! Yeah, I'll be right down." He looked back to Mike after he hung up. "That was Mary. She's downstairs with Jeff. I've gotta go down and meet them." He got up and straightened himself out before leaving the room and meeting the man who was trying to steal his woman. He decided not to wait for the elevator and ran down the back stairs.

Mary watched as Jeff put a quarter into a slot machine. "It must be fun to work around here", he said as pulled down on the handle.

"Sometimes", she shrugged. "Other times it can be pretty chaotic."

"I think that's true about any work place." He tried again as the machine came up empty. "Bet you get to meet a lot of... interesting people."

She snorted. "Oh yeah. Vegas is full of crazies." The slot machine then whooped and lit up as a few coins fell from it. "You won!", Mary smiled.

"Yep! A whole dollar! And I'm not sharing it with you", Jeff joked.

Danny scanned the casino floor looking for them, then spotted Mary with her head thrown back in laughter. It hurt him to see her be happy with another man, but he saw red when she reached out and straightened Jeff's collar. That was their thing. He narrowed his eyes, squared his shoulders and went up to them. "Hey", he nearly barked.

"Oh Danny! I think you two remember each other. Danny, this is Jeff. Jeff, Danny."

"How you doin' McCoy?" Danny looked down at the extended hand in distaste before taking it. "Fine. And you?"

Jeff slightly flinched at the pressure Danny exerted. "Uh, good." He then pulled his hand out of Danny's grasp.

Not hiding his smirk, he asked, "so, where are you two going tonight?"

"We're going to Le Bistro. It's this little French restaurant just outside of the strip", Jeff answered.

"French restaurant?", Danny scoffed. "Mary, you hate French food."

She looked at Danny as if he were crazy. "No I don't. I like French food. It's Indian food I don't like, remember?", she asked threateningly with her eyes.

He smacked his own forehead. "That's right. My mistake." He then gave her a once over. "What are you wearing?"

She looked down at herself in insecurity. "A dress. Why?"

"Isn't it missing something?"

"Like what?"

"Like the rest of it?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Danny-"

"You know how chilly it gets at night. Didn't you bring a jacket?", he all but scolded.

"Yes, it's in Jeff's car."

Danny nodded. "Good, good."

"So how've you been, McCoy?", Jeff got back in the conversation that they had left him out of.

"I've been pretty good. Been seeing someone."

Mary cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, that's nice", Jeff replied as he put his arm around her waist.

Danny's eyes wandered to the offending hand that was resting on her hip then into Mary's eyes. "Yeah, she's a real special girl."

She shivered at the husky tone in his voice and the way he was looking at her. Jeff felt it. "Maybe a jacket's a good idea. You cold?"

"Huh?", she broke away from Danny's stare. "Uh, yeah. A little."

"Well, we should get going anyway. We have reservations. It was good seeing you again, McCoy. As you probably already know, I'm performing here tomorrow night. I hope to see you there."

Danny clenched his jaw and forced a smile. "Sounds like fun."

"Ready, Mary?"

She nodded. "Goodnight, Danny."

"Goodnight, Mary." She kissed his cheek, then walked out with Jeff. Danny didn't turn to watch them leave.


	6. The Date

Notes; I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated. The time flew by. I'm sorry about that. Anyway, here's the next part. I hope you all like it. And as always, thanks for the support!

-------------------------------

Mary and Jeff were seated at their table in Le Bistro chatting, while waiting for their food to arrive.

"That was kind of fun."

Mary scrunched her brow in confusion. "What was?"

"McCoy", he chuckled.

"Oh." She shook her head. "I'm so embarrassed. Sometimes Danny can be a pain in the neck."

Jeff smirked. "He likes you."

Mary snorted. "Well I should hope so. We've been best friends since forever."

He shook his head. "No, I mean he LIKES you." Mary froze as Jeff continued. "It's obvious. He wanted to meet me before you went out with me and he was practically marking his territory right in front of me. Trust me, I'm a guy. I know these things."

Mary's voice caught in her throat until their waiter returned with their dinner. "Oh, look. The food's here."

Jeff shook his head and chose to let the subject change for now as their plates were placed in front of them. His eyes widened at the so-called food staring back at him. Looking at Mary, he could see she had the same reaction. "Something wrong?"

"Uh, it's just... what is this?"

"It's chicken. You ordered it."

"I know, but it doesn't look like chicken." She poked at it with her fork.

Jeff looked back down at his plate. "McCoy was right, wasn't he? You don't like French food."

"I do!", she assured him.

"No, you don't. And you know what? I don't either."

"Then why did you want to come here?"

He raised his head and shrugged. "I guess, I wanted to impress you. Why'd you say yes to coming here?"

She smiled. "I wanted to impress you too."

"So we were willing to torture ourselves by eating French food just to impress each other. We're pathetic." They both laughed. "You wanna go grab a burger somewhere?", Jeff suggested.

Mary nodded enthusiastically. "God, yes!"

"Waiter! Check, please."

----------------------------------

They sat in Jeff's car in a secluded area overlooking the strip eating take-out they had gotten through a drive-thru.

"This is real classy", he remarked with a mouthful of food.

Mary stifled a laugh as she chewed on a ketchup coated fry. "Who cares? It's good. Although, I am a little overdressed for burgers", she joked.

Jeff gazed out of the windshield to look at the view. "The strip looks great. I've missed living here."

"Why did it take you so long to come back?", she asked before taking a bite of her burger.

He shrugged. "I uh, had someone back in New York. We were thinking of getting married."

"What happened?", she asked after swallowing.

"Things just didn't work out. It just felt like we were in two different places, you know?"

Mary nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

Jeff turned back to her. "So what about you? Any serious romances in your life?"

Mary blushed. "I don't know. There's this guy, and there's really strong feelings there, but I keep thinking that we're not meant to be. Things just never work out between us.We've tried and tried and there's always something getting in the way."

"But you love him."

"Yeah". She then laughed quietly to herself. "A lot."

"So do you think it's still worth trying for?"

Mary sighed. "It gets harder the older I get."

"I know it's frustrating, but if you love him... Does he love you?"

Mary smiled slowly. "Yeah, he does." She knew Danny loved her. There was never a doubt in her mind about that, despite their issues.

Jeff winced. "Please, I'm eating."

She laughed. "I'm sorry. It's rude to talk about another guy when you're out on a date."

"This is a date?", Jeff raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it?"

He winked and finished off his burger. "This is a great spot you picked."

"You don't remember it?", she carefully asked, hoping he would.

"This is where we came the night before I left."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, it is."

Jeff collected his and Mary's trash, then grabbed her hand. "I'm glad we did this. You ever think about... what would have happened if I had stayed in Vegas?"

She licked her lips. "I think about that a lot."

Jeff's eyes strayed to her mouth at her actions. He then lightly cupped her face with his other hand, bringing her in closer and dipped his head. When Mary saw his eyes closing, she did what came naturally and slid her hand behind his neck pulling him forward until their lips touched.

-------------------------------------

"I had a great time tonight", Mary said as Jeff walked her to her door.

"So did I. I guess I'll see you at my show tomorrow?"

"Definitely. I can't wait to hear you sing", she beamed.

"Well, goodnight", he kissed her briefly on the lips.

"Isn't this cozy?"

They turned at the slurred voice behind them. "Danny?"

He staggered towards them and would have fell if Jeff hadn't have grabbed his arm, steadying him. "Easy, McCoy."

"Get your hands off of me", Danny jerked out of his grasp.

"Danny, are you drunk?"

"Yes, I am."

"How did you get here? You didn't drive, did you?", Mary frowned.

"I took a cab. Did you have fun tonight?", he asked accusingly.

"Why are you drunk?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer. Let's get you inside. Jeff, will you help me?"

"Sure."

"Don't touch me, Cooper!"

Mary tucked her hair behind her ears in frustration. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Maybe I should leave?", Jeff suggested, knowing his presence was upsetting Danny.

"Maybe?"

"I'm really sorry about this, Jeff", Mary apologized.

Danny leaned against her door for support. "Don't apologize for me, Mary."

"Will you be ok?", Jeff worried.

Danny scoffed. "I would never hurt Mary. Unlike a certain other person."

"I'll be fine. I can handle him."

"Ok. See you later." Jeff walked to his car, looking back as Mary was able to bring Danny inside of her apartment and closed the door.


	7. Drunken Confessions

Notes; Much thanks for the continued feedback! I'm a little iffy about this part but I hope you all enjoy.

-

Mary managed to get Danny into her apartment with minimal struggle, despite his weight bearing down on her. They stumbled together towards the couch where Danny collapsed, with Mary on top of him.

"Oh, baby. I like it when you're on top" he teased.

"Shut up, Danny" Mary muttered as she stood up. "Look at you, you're a mess. I'm gonna make you some coffee, black."

"I don't want any coffee", he slurred.

"Too bad", she said and went into the kitchen to put on a pot. She then went into her bedroom to quickly change into something more comfortable. When she came back into the living room, Danny was sitting up with his head in his hands.

"The room is spinning."

She stifled a smug smile. "I'll bet. What did you have to drink?"

He thought about it for a minute before answering. "Everything."

She sat down beside him and rubbed his back. "You'll be ok."

Danny looked at her. "Where'd you go tonight"

"You know where."

He shook his head and pouted. "I went to the restaurant and you weren't there."

"You did? Oh, well we left early because the food was gross."

"Did you go to his place?", he asked carefully.

"No."

Danny stared into her eyes and could see she was telling the truth. He was relieved. "I'm sorry."

"For being rude to Jeff? You should be."

"I'm not sorry about that. The guy's a jerk"

"The only jerk tonight was you!", she pointed out incredulously.

Danny briefly closed his eyes at the tone of her voicewhich had caused his head to throb a bit. "I don't like him."

Mary sighed. "Fine. You don't have to like him. But that's no excuse for your behavior. You've been acting crazy ever since I ran into Jeff again."

"I know", he mumbled. "That's why I'm sorry. And because... because I should've told you."

She furrowed her brow. "Told me what"

Danny swallowed before speaking. "That I love you. And I don't want you with anyone but me."

Mary licked her lips and looked down at her hands. "I know that you love me. That's never been the problem."

"Then what is the problem"

"That's the thing. You don't know... and neither do I."

Danny blinked. "I'm confused."

"Don't you think if it were gonna happen with us that it would've happened a long time ago"

Danny vehemently disagreed. "Not necessarily. Maybe we weren't ready then."

"I was", she remarked quietly. "I've always been ready. And I've spent so much time and so many years waiting around for you to be ready."

He nodded. "Ok. So now I'm ready."

"Just like that, huh", she chuckled. "You don't get it." She stood up and folded her arms across herself defensively. "You can't decide you're ready just because some other guy takes an interest in me. You've always taken me for granted. You've always wanted to have your cake and eat it too. You wanna be able to screw around with other chicks and have this girl next door to come home to. And you just assume that I'll always be there waiting for you. I'm sick of it."

Danny clumsily got to his feet and made his way over to her. He cupped her face in his hands. "You're right. I have taken you for granted. But not because of the reasons you've said. I'm chicken shit, Mary. You know that. If I could go back and fix all the mistakes I've made with you, I would. But I can't do that. Does it really matter now anyway? We're not kids anymore, Mary. You love me and I love you... and I want to be with you. Only you. Isn't that enough"

Mary closed her eyes at the force of Danny's words. "I just don't think I can do this anymore. It's so hard."

"What is", Danny brushed his thumb gently over her plump bottom lip.

"Loving you", she breathed.

"Whoever said love was easy", he murmured as his lips descended onto hers. Their tongues caressed the insides of each other's mouths and Danny's hands strayed down Mary's back to cup her bottom. The action startled her and caused her to break away from him, breathless.

"Danny, we can't do this. It isn't right. You're drunk." She composed herself. "The coffee should be ready now."

He grabbed her elbow before she could move away from him. "Forget the coffee.

She swallowed heavily at the desire swimming in his brown eyes.

Danny pulled her in closer to him and nuzzled her neck. "Let me be with you tonight, Mary", he whispered into her skin that smelled of the perfume he gave her for Christmas. Her favorite scent. His too. He felt the shudder that ran through her and smirked. Raising his hooded eyes, he took in their surroundings. There were pictures of him and the two of them together all over the room, confirmation that they belonged together. He belonged to her and she definitely belonged to him. "Please", he begged. " I need you."

Mary bit her lip in frustration. She couldn't deny that she wanted him. "What the hell? You probably won't remember any of this tomorrow anyway." She gripped his collar and planted her mouth firmly onto his.


	8. The Morning After

Notes; Much thanks for the continued feedback! Sorry for the delay. Brace yourselves, the next part will probably be the last. I hope you enjoy this!

-

Danny groaned as he rolled over in the soft bed. His arms reached out and searched for the missing warmth that had blanketed him all night. Finding the space next to him cold and empty, his eyes popped open.

"Mary?", he grumbled.

When he heard no response, he sat up too fast causing his head to throb. Danny moaned as he shut his eyes tightly to keep the pain at bay. He carefully got out of bed.

Maybe Mary was in the shower, he thought to himself as he walked towards the bathroom. He knocked on the door. "Mary?" Nothing. No sound of water running, no Mary. He began to panic a bit. Had she fled? No, she was probably in the kitchen making breakfast for them, he thought with a small smile. He made his way to the other room and nothing again. No smell of food cooking, no Mary.

Danny picked up the phone to dial Mary's cell number. After a few rings it went to her voicemail. He cursed and darted back to the bedroom, despite his hangover, to get dressed and find her.

-

Mary had been jumpy all morning. She thought it had to do with the six cups of coffee she drank since she got to work early that morning, but it was something far more than that.

Last night, she had went out on a date with one guy then ended up sleeping with another.

She knew sleeping with Danny had been a mistake. He was drunk and she was vulnerable. But she couldn't help her feelings, no matter how often she cursed them. Every day of her life since she was no more than a kid; she loved Danny, she wanted Danny, she desired Danny.

She sighed when she heard her cell go off. Looking at the number of the caller she panicked. It was Danny. She wasn't quite ready to talk to him yet, so she rejected the call. She knew she couldn't dodge him forever, Danny wouldn't let her. But she needed some time to get her thoughts straight and figure out what last night had meant.

-

Danny had gotten to the Montecito in record time, breaking every speed law known to man in his pursuit of Mary. He crashed through the doors of the hotel and casino, causing some patrons to stare as he looked like a wild man on the hunt for something, and ran into Mike.

"Hey, man. You look like Hell. And aren't those the same clothes you had on last night?"

Danny ignored his remarks. "I'm looking for Mary."

The bald man smiled. "What else is new? She's in her office."

"Thanks." Mike watched his friend run off and shook his head. "Something's goin' down."

-

Mary started at the knocking on her door. She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. She knew it was Danny, she didn't even have to ask who it was. "Come in."

Danny walked in and their eyes immediately connected. "Hi".

"Hi. You look terrible."

"So I hear. I feel terrible, too." He stepped as close as he could get to her with the desk seperating them.

"Hangover?"

He nodded. "But that's not why I feel terrible. Why did you leave this morning?"

Mary licked her lips. "Look, don't think I left because of you. I didn't. Melissa called in sick and asked if I could cover her early morning shift. So I've been here since five this morning."

"Why didn't you leave a note or something?"

Mary shrugged. "I wasn't quite sure what to say."

"So you did leave because of me."

"No-", she stopped herself as he looked at her with doubt. "Well, maybe it was partly because of you."

Danny sat down in the seat across from her and ran his hand through his short hair. "I'm sorry, Mary."

She closed her eyes at his mumbled words. She didn't want to hear him apologize for what happened between them last night, but she was expecting it. "Just forget it."

"I can't. I'm embarrassed about the way I acted last night. Showing up at your place drunk, being rude to Jeff. Even if I don't like him, he hasn't really done anything to deserve that, except of course take you out." She briefly smiled at that comment. As tired as she was of Danny's jealousy at times, there was also a part of her that enjoyed it. Call it an ego thing, but it felt good to know that he cared. "And I practically forced myself on you."

"You did not. You came on a little strong, but... I kinda liked it", she admitted shyly.

Danny smirked. "You did?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Don't let it go to your head, McCoy."

His smirk turned into a small grin. "So... what did I do wrong last night that made you leave?", he asked with caution.

Mary frowned. "It's not what you did last night. It's what I thought you'd do this morning."

"Which was?", he urged her to continue.

She sighed. "The usual rejection. You know, last night was great Mary and I care about you, but I'm not ready to settle down blah, blah, blah", she waved her hands in the air wildly during her impersonation of Danny.

"You really think a lot of me, don't you?", he asked bitterly.

"It's not like I haven't heard it before, Danny", she said matter of factly.

Danny pursed his lips and nodded. "I know. And that's my fault... for making you doubt me and feel insecure about my feelings for you." Danny paused as he got up from his chair and stared deeply into Mary's brown eyes. "Mary, I have never had doubts, not about my feelings for you. I've always known how I felt about you. But there was always a part of me that didn't want to feel for you what I did", he confessed as Mary's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I was scared... scared of things changing between us, scared of losing you. I don't deserve you, Mary, and there are times when I don't even know why you love me. So I tried to fight it, deny it. But I can't anymore. Because I'm not gonna stand aside and let some jerk off like Jeff Cooper take you away from me."

"Jeff's not a jerk off. He's a good guy."

Danny shrugged. "Maybe so. But I still stand by what I said."

Mary licked her lips after processing Danny's words. "Last night, Jeff and I decided to just be friends."

"Huh?" He wasn't expecting that.

"Yeah. We had a great time last night, but when we kissed... it was nice and it brought back all of these old memories. But it also made us realize that our chance has passed. So we've decided to just be friends. Good friends."

Danny blinked, "oh", then scowled, "you kissed?"

Mary pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. "So you see, you don't have to worry about Jeff taking me away from you and this was all pretty much for nothing."

Danny shook his head. "No, not for nothing." He looked down and scratched the back of his head before looking back up. "I'm actually kind of glad Jeff came to town. Because he made me realize how stupid I was being. It's not like I've thought it was impossible for you to find someone else. But Jeff gave that possibility a face and made it very real. The idea of you marrying another man and having children with him that should be ours... I couldn't handle that", Danny's voice broke on the last line.

Mary's eyes began to tear as Danny's confession became emotional. "So what are you saying?", she asked with slight hope.

"I'm saying that, I love you and I want to be with you... forever. And I'd give anything just for one more chance, to prove to you that things are gonna be different now. But I won't blame you if you don't want to give me that chance" he mumbled sadly.

Mary stayed silent as she rose from her seat and crossed over to Danny. "You said before that sometimes you don't know why I love you." She ran her hand down the side of his face and smiled. "This is why", she said right before she kissed him. Pulling back breathlessly after a few minutes, she whispered against his lips, "you should probably go home and change. If Ed sees you looking all disheveled, you'll get in trouble."

"I don't care", he responded and claimed her lips once more. As if on cue, his cell phone went off. He and Mary froze and they gently pulled away from each other. "It's Ed", Danny said as he checked the caller. He looked at Mary and smiled. She was giving him another chance. He wasn't gonna put his job ahead of her anymore. "Let him wait", he remarked as he rejected the call.

Mary's eyes widened in panic. "Uh, Danny, I think it's very sweet that you're choosing me over Ed. But do you think that's such a good idea?"

Danny thought about it. Ignoring his boss's phone call. Ignoring Big Ed's phone call. The man who could have his nuts mounted on his office wall. He gave Mary a quick kiss on the lips. "Maybe I should freshen up a bit. I'll be back."

She sighed in relief and nodded as she watched the love of her life hightail it out of her office, not wanting to, understandably, suffer their boss's wrath.


	9. The Finale

Notes; Ok, here's the fluffy conclusion. It's finally done. Thank you all for the support and I hope you enjoyed it!

Mary moaned as Danny licked the special spot behind her ear. "That is so not fair."

"What is?", he asked in a fake, innocent, husky tone.

"You know what that does to me. It drives me crazy", she shuddered when he did it again and scratched the little hairs on the back of his neck with her fingernails. They were in their linen closet at the Montecito making out and groping each other before the start of Jeff's show.

He lifted his head from the crook of her sweet smelling neck and smirked. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It is when we don't have much time."

"Who says we don't have time?", he asked while cheekily squeezing her bottom.

"I do. We're going to Jeff's show. You promised. And you promised to apologize to him and be nice."

"I never promised to apologize."

Mary raised a stern eyebrow. "You will if you want to finish later what we've started here now."

Danny groaned and touched his forehead to hers. "You drive a hard bargain."

Mary licked her lips when she felt something poking her in her stomach. "Yep, it's hard alright."

Danny grinned wolfishly before seizing her plump red lips once more.

Later that night, the gang were at the after party for Jeff's show. It was a success. Mary turned in Danny's arms and smiled. "Wasn't Jeff great!"

He shrugged. "He was okay."

"Okay? His voice is amazing!"

"If you like that kind of thing", Danny mumbled with a hint of jealousy.

"Oh now, Danny. Don't be jealous. Jeff may have a great voice but he doesn't have my heart", she assured him and kissed him softly on the lips.

Danny's smile fell as Jeff approached them. "Hey, you two. I'm glad you could make it." He gave Mary a peck on the cheek and shook Danny's hand. It took all of McCoy's self control not to break it.

"Us, too. You were so good, Jeff. I'm impressed", Mary beamed.

"Thank you."

The redhead elbowed Danny gently to compliment the guy. "Uh... yeah, you weren't bad. I even enjoyed myself."

"That was the idea, McCoy", Jeff joked and slapped Danny on the shoulder causing him to clench his jaw. "This is a great party", Jeff continued.

"Leave it to Delinda. She does know how to throw a party", Mary said and then cleared her throat in a very telling way.

Danny made eye contact with her and got the message. "Uh, listen Cooper. I want to", he grit his teeth, "apologize for the way I've been acting these past few days. I was being unfair."

Jeff nodded. "It's cool. I knew you were jealous."

"I wasn't jealous", Danny denied. "Just concerned for Mary's well being."

Jeff chose not to push as he could see Danny struggling to be polite. "Sure."

"Would you care to join us, Jeff?", the redhead asked ignoring Danny's glare.

"Thanks, but I've actually got a date."

Mary furrowed her brow. "Really? Who?"

Just then a familiar blonde appeared. "Hey guys! Can I have my date back now?"

The couple blinked. "Delinda? You and Delinda?"

Danny's face then broke out into a big smile that Jeff had never seen before. "You and Delinda! That's great. Way to go, man", he extended his hand in a congratulatory shake, which an amused Jeff accepted.

"He's all yours, honey. Have fun", Mary remarked as Delinda pulled a grinning Jeff away from the pair.

Danny sighed. "They make a cute couple, don't you think?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

"That doesn't bother you, does it?", he asked with a touch of insecurity.

"Nah. I just feel kind of sorry for him. Delinda's gonna eat him alive."

Danny smirked as he remembered his past fling with the blonde. "But what a way to go."

Mary lightly smacked the back of his head. "Watch it."

Danny chuckled. "I'm only playing. And you're right, Jeff's a good guy."

Mary laughed. "Oh! So now that he's no longer interested in me, you like him?"

"Woah! I didn't say all that." He then grabbed her hands and kissed her breathless. "Are you ready to get out of here?", he asked seductively after pulling away.

"Uh huh", she mumbled with a dazed look on her face. And with that, Danny and Mary retreated to his place to finish what they started earlier.


End file.
